We can beat this
by LANfanaddictNIE
Summary: This story takes place along side "should old aquaintance be forgot" and it starts off similar, but in the next few chapters it will be going in a slightly different direction.  All characters and related topics go to their respectable owners.
1. Meet Me Later

"Oh gosh", Annie gasped as she boarded the plane back to California with her brother Dixon.

Dixon hadn't noticed his sister's harsh breathing until she took in a huge sigh, as they were seated. He knew something wasn't right and just as he was saying "Annie are you al-", Annie jumped up with a nauseous look on her face and said "I think I'm going to be sick", and she quickly ran to the restroom.

It was not like Annie to be prone to travel sickness.

"Ugh, that's gross", Annie whispered to herself, wiping around her mouth. She slowly made her way back to her seat next to Dixon while he asked if she felt better. Annie simply nodded her head with a slight smile. However, she was dreading the trip back home; after all, the only person that she truly wanted to see probably didn't want to see her. All the thoughts of her pre-Paris life were occupying her mind. She finally came across the memory she had with Liam, she did not want to let that feeling go. She gripped ever so tightly to that memory, and stopping her mind from shifting to the events that fate held out after that. With a sweet memory of Liam lingering in her thoughts, she fell asleep.

"Annie, Annie", the voice said. "Annie" (she opened her eyes) "you were crying in your sleep again", Dixon said evermore quietly.

It was often that she had 'the dream' where Liam was helplessly dying, while she was declaring her love for him via voicemail. What hurt her the most was that he never received that message. He did not know how she felt about him, that she most definitely was still IN love with him. But right now that didn't matter; she knew in her heart that he needed to hear her say it in person. She was going to tell him that she loves him like she always has. That very thought put a true smile across her face. The plane finally landed and she was greeted by her friend Naomi, "Oh Annie what have we here. I knew my excellent fashion would eventually rub onto you". The two leaned in for a hug. In that process, Annie eagerly asked "How is he?" Naomi answered by saying "He is well enough to be released tomorrow." Annie was relieved, "I have to see him now" she said. Naomi smiled; she would not be the one to break Annie's heart.

As Annie arrived at the hospital, she felt butterflies occupy her stomach. "Excuse me, I am here to see Liam Court" she stated and asked at the same time. "Right in there Miss" the nurse pointed. Annie was about to open the door until she saw a women in there with Liam, and they were kissing! Annie ran to the nearest restroom and threw up. Had she really seen that? Should she go back? All of these questions flooded her brain. She knew she could not let Liam think she did not care, so she took a deep breath, held up her chin and continued on into Liam's room.

Annie walked on in to see Liam sitting on his bed. Her eyes froze upon seeing his and she said only what came to mind "Hey Liam". Liam grunted "Hey" back at her. She wasn't expecting enthusiasm, but that didn't make her feel right either. "Liam I missed you" she added, trying to compose her words correctly. Liam argued, in a lower tone "Missed me…enough to call?" "I tried", Annie interrupted. Liam just rolled his eyes. "I…I couldn't face how I was the cause of this" she said almost tearing up. There I go with my crying again she thought. "When I found out you were in trouble, I instantly went to go help, and what did you do, you went to Paris", Liam said in an unpleasant manner. Just than, a woman walked in, the woman Annie saw making-out with Liam. "Hello, I'm Vanessa", the woman said snottily toward Annie. Liam jumped in and said "Vanessa this is Annie, Annie this is Vanessa. She witnessed the hit-n-run and has been with me since", he said the last part looking coldly at Annie. Annie felt another bad taste in her mouth, but held it in. She felt like crying after that heartbreaking stare from Liam, but she held that in as well. After a few more silent seconds she shakily managed to utter "Liam let's talk later, right now I'm supposed to meet Naomi." She lied. But she needed to clear her thoughts. Vanessa smirked and haughtily said "Bye".


	2. The Want in Life

Annie arrived back home to Naomi's mansion. As she entered the premises, it was all to quiet. It reminded her of the loneliness and emptiness she felt in Paris every time she thought of Liam. She hid her feelings so well from her family, and now she felt like it was the breaking point. As she was making her way up the staircase, she couldn't help but break into tears. Never in her whole life had she felt this empty inside. Her body was on fire, yet she felt ice cold. She eventually reached her room, slammed the door and wept the afternoon away.

Annie finally had the will power to sit up and think aloud to herself and said "what the hell am I doing?" Annie was used to keeping things bottled up, but this situation seemed different. She felt an urge to do something, to yell, scream, run, or to do anything. She decided to go to the gym, to blow off some steam. Besides, she thought as she was slipping on some pink short shorts, a grayish black sports bra and an oversized beach tee, I do need the work-out it seems as I had to much _Gelato_ while I was out of town. She grabbed a bag, stuffed in her wallet and her phone and headed downstairs. As she was packing a water bottle and an apple, she heard the front door open and to no surprise it was Naomi. "Annie, hey" she said in a worried manner noticing Annie's smudged make up. "Have you been crying?" asked the concerned Naomi.

Annie had been all too busy in her thoughts to remember that she cried her eyes out. Slightly embarrassed, Annie went to the restroom to wash her face while Naomi followed her in. "Annie, please tell me….how are you" Naomi asked in her sincerest voice. At this point, Annie was all out of tears but Naomi could see the pain in her eyes. The two friends hugged for quite a few minutes until Annie was ready to let go. As the two sat in the restroom, Annie poured her feelings out to Naomi who was actually listening. Those who know Naomi Clark, listening was not exactly her forte. Annie told Naomi about her encounter with Vanessa. "I just can't believe that Liam would just bash me like that with his hateful glares…ugh", Annie said with a sigh.

Naomi answered by saying "I don't know what kind of hold Vanessa has on Liam, but I remember the first time I met her at the hospital she was a real bitch." Annie couldn't help but let out a laugh. "You know what, I'm done moaning, do you want to go to the gym with me?" Annie asked Naomi. "Yeah, sure" was Naomi's reply. She knew Annie really needed a friend right now. So Naomi got dressed and they jumped into her car to the gym.

"Oh yes the treadmills are free", Annie said. The two girls ran side by side for about half an hour. As they were ready to leave, Naomi saw a scale, and she was always one to check her weight after a work out. "Wait Annie, I want to check my weight." Naomi said in an almost religious way. Annie laughed and nodded her head. "118" Naomi declared happily. Annie stepped on the scale as well, only to find that she gained 2.5 pounds from her original weight of 112. She gasped, but it didn't worry her as it would any other girl. "Man, I'm glad I didn't order the next round of French bread in Paris" she said jokingly to Naomi. The two laughed and headed home.

Although it was only 8 pm, Annie decided to call it a night. She changed into her night clothes and went to sleep. "Homeless man hit", "unidentified", "hit-n-run". Annie saw herself in a panic. She was in a car, she got out…OMG she hit Liam. The love of her life, she couldn't run. She held this man close in her arms. That's when the frightful Annie woke up completely shaken. She felt goose bumps everywhere. That was not the dream she was used to having, and she could not get it off her mind. She was much to alert now to go back to sleep, so she decides to go downstairs and get a glass of water. She sat in the empty room on the couch perplexed by her dream. Why was she thinking about Mr. Herman's death and Liam's accident? Was there a connection? No, there is no connection she thought to herself. "I'm just making a big deal out of nothing" she kept repeating to herself in the dark. She thought about the man she killed. It ruined her life. "What am I saying? I may have ruined this man's life as well", she said in a guilty undertone. And again it hit her, the guilt was back, not about the hit-n-run, but about leaving Liam. She felt like she was the cause of his accident. "I'm guilty", she said in a whisper. All of a sudden, another perplexed look came across Annie's face, as she traced down in her mind Liam's recent words to her. Annie soon uttered out "She witnessed the hit-n-run and has been with me since." Who the hell would wait that long by a stranger she thought. Oh my god, could Vanessa be involved in Liam's accident? Now Annie could not sleep, she had to figure out what was going on, if anything even was going on.

To start the day, Annie jumped into the hot shower. She stood in there sorting her thoughts, calming herself down and just trying to feel…feel for what she did not know at the moment. She eventually turned off the water grabbed a towel and started to dry off. Soon enough she was on her way to her bedroom and getting ready to dress up. "What to wear" she mumbled. In the back of her mind, she knew she was meeting with Liam today and she wanted to look good for him. But every dress she tried on looked weird. She finally found a simple purple sundress that accentuated her features. She didn't want to appear too dressy so instead of stilettos she went for nude wedges. She grabbed a tote bag she had earlier prepared and was off to Liam's bar.

She arrived at Liam's place about 10 am. He was already stocking up on liquor and he was currently looking for a corkscrew. Adrianna was helping him stack and doing other little tasks as well. Annie walked into the bar and was greeted by Ade. Annie and Adrianna were never the best of friends, but you couldn't tell now, because they had grown closer after Ade stated dating Annie's brother Dixon. Annie asked for Liam, so Ade called for him "Liam!" while still in conversation with Annie. Annie was hesitant but asked "Is Vanessa here?" "Thank God NO. She went out to buy something for the bar this morning. I'm glad she is not here, it makes my job so much easier." Ade could see the relief on Annie's face that Vanessa wasn't there, and she could also see a worried expression. Instinctively, Ade excused herself to get Liam and pretended to be busy in the back.

Before Liam entered, Annie took in a deep breath. She once again greeted him in the same manner as their last meeting, "Hey Liam". "Annie", Liam responded at the same time secretly admiring her figure. "I am so sorry, for not being there for you Liam. I tried calling and texting at first, but when you didn't respond I figured you wanted to be left alone", Annie said in a genuine manner. "C'mon Annie don't lie to me, you never called", Liam said softly not wanting to argue with the beauty that stood before him. Another confused look crossed Annie's face, "What? The moment I heard you were in the hospital, I called you, and there was no answer. I called the hospital and the receptionist said you weren't taking any outside calls". "Well", Liam gasped, "I don't know what to say, I want to believe you-". "You WANT to believe me? Want, seriously? You know me, I can't lie to you about this." "You lied about nothing being WRONG between you and Patrick" Liam quickly asserted. This hurt Annie, but she was too hot with anger to stop. So without thinking Annie stated her suspicions of Vanessa saying "Damn Liam you are such a dumb ass. That bitch Vanessa is lying to you. She is the one who hit you. She is probably the reason why I couldn't contact you." Before Liam could snap back, the two heard a clapping, it was Vanessa. "Nice show, are you supposed to be an actress or something. You know Liam is with me now, we WANT to be together and you just need to back off bitch". Liam was conflicted, so all that he could utter was "Maybe you should leave, Annie."

Annie had it. She wanted to straighten things out with Liam but this bitch was in the way. So with all her might, she surprisingly wrestled Vanessa to the floor. She punched her in the face, but Vanessa fought back. Liam shouted for Ade and the two struggled to get them apart. Annie, because of her small body, was hurt a little more by this. Ade dialed 911 for Annie, she was quite beaten, but nonetheless something inside told her not to worry. Liam sent Vanessa off somewhere to cool off, and was there for Annie. Anyone who was there could see that he was worried about Annie, he stayed by her side until the paramedics came. Adrianna couldn't let Annie go alone, so she went to the hospital as well.


	3. Knock Knock

Annie wasn't unconscious; everything was just a little blurry to her. She couldn't help but chuckle at how much she has changed. Getting into a fight, a literal fight that is, was definitely a first for her. She did have some aches and pains, but it was just standard procedure for the doctors to run tests. They had drawn some blood for drugs or whatever, and got a urine sample, so Annie was just left to be monitored. "Wow Annie, I never pegged you as a fighter", Ade said to Annie. "Yeah, I didn't see you as a lover either", Annie teased back, referring to her brother. "_Touché_", was Ade's response. The two friends sat in calmness for awhile until at length Ade gave into the silence and surprised Annie by saying "I believe you Annie, there is something seriously wrong with Vanessa. I have to tell you something in confidence, so you can't blurt this out." Annie agreed, "You have my word."

"Vanessa was really nice to me, when I visited Liam in the hospital for the first time, but when I started to visit him on a regular basis to update him on how his bar was running she would get really possessive of Liam. I thought that she was just the jealous type or something, so I backed down. One day, I needed to get the information about who we get our deliveries from so that I could re-stock the bar while he was out. I tried to call Liam, but whoever was on the other line kept hanging up."

"What did you do then?" Annie asked curiously as a child would listen to a bedtime story.

"I decided to see Liam at the hospital. He wasn't in the room, but Vanessa was. I watched her from the door, she was reading his text messages and I believe that she was deleting them. I didn't want to be in there with her alone, so I waited for Liam to get back and made it seem like I had just got there. We walked into his room and I was glad that Liam asked Vanessa to run an errand for him. I wanted to tell Liam what I saw, but I needed proof so I casually asked if I could look at his phone and-"

(Knock, Knock). "Excuse me Miss; I would like a moment alone with Ms. Wilson" said the attending doctor. "Oh ok, Annie I'll be back in a few minutes, do you want anything?" Ade asked. "No thanks" was Annie's reply. "Annie, well your blood results came back clean…but uh…we concluded from your urinalysis that you are pregnant. Are you aware of that?" the doctor asked. Annie's eyes grew big, her face turned pale and she felt herself searching for air. "Uh, it can't be, are you sure? I take oral contraceptives", Annie protested. "Yes Ms. Wilson, we are positive. Out of concern for the fetus, we just want to take a more thorough examination, just to make sure you are in good health especially after your incident", the doctor said. Annie nodded shakily in approval still captivated by the doctor's initial news. "Okay then, I'll send a nurse over in a few minutes" the doctor said as he walked out.

Annie's heart was racing, fear was painted on her face and tears began running down her face like clockwork. New thoughts and worries clouded Annie's head. Still shaken she once again began thinking about what is to come of this…this…thing. 'How am I going to tell Patrick? What's he going to say? Does he have to know? How can I raise a child? Do I even want a baby? What would Liam say? What would he think? He's going to hate me. Why, why, why!' All these thoughts were rushing through Annie's head colliding with one another, repeating itself. It was like a volcano had erupted. Beautiful, yet damaging. All of the news took a toll on Annie, she felt faint and nauseous. Annie didn't have time to rush to the restroom so she quickly tilted her head off the bed and into a pan that was left for her to use. She wiped around her mouth like in routine, and let her upper body fall into a white pillow. She laid there in quiet for a few minutes with her thoughts still mimicking a jungle, when Ade knocked on the door to make her presence known and walked on into the exam room.

"I'm back" Ade said with a smile. Annie looked at her while almost bursting into tears. She thought to herself "is this what I'll be doing every time I see someone?" "Annie, what happened…what did the doctor say?" Ade asked with much concern. "Ade…I'm a…they say I'm pregnant", Annie struggled to say (like she was trying to talk after running for more than what she could handle.) Ade's eyes filled up with tears of happiness, she leaned toward Annie and gave her a huge hug, a hug from would-be mom to could-be mom. "Wow, Annie", is all Ade wanted to say for the moment since she noticed that Annie hadn't responded in any way. "I'm scared", Annie finally admitted. "I don't think I can do this", said the frightened Annie. "What do you mean? Are you thinking about abortion?" asked Ade without trying to sound offensive. After all it was each one to his, or her, own opinion. "What, no. That never crossed my mind Ade. I meant I don't know if I can do this alone. I honestly don't think Patrick will want to be involved in this", Annie said-again without mentioning the word baby. "Oh Patrick's the father" Ade added in a slight question. "Yeah well he is the only guy I had s-. Wait…Ade (Annie paused) Omagod I uh (still trying to straighten up her words) the night of the accident…Liam's accident…we hooked up" (she probably forgot about this because of all the raucous that was going on in her life) uttered Annie. Something changed inside her after knowing this piece of information, it was a sense of relief, it was like a dysfunctional fairytale to her. "O my god! Really!" Ade exclaimed with excitement. "You think it could be Liam's?" said Ade. "Well it makes sense. But Ade you have to promise me, you can't tell anyone about this, not until I find out who the biological father is. Even then, I don't want anyone else to know right now." Annie said pleadingly. "I swear", Ade said promisingly. Annie tested Ade's facial features, and she seemed sincere enough. "Thanks Adrianna" Annie said with confidence.

Okay, so this chapter didn't go as well as I expected, but I wanted to get it done before I lost any more ideas. In fact, even I expected this chapter to be longer, but I have writers block, especially with Adrianna's story. I promise there will be Lannie interaction in the next chapter. Please Review! Thx


	4. Goodbye

Ade went back to the bar to finish her shift, but she would be back later to drop Annie off at Naomi's place. The doctor and the nurse were finishing up on Annie's physical examination. Other than some minor facial bruising, Annie was fine. "Ms. Wilson, I am going to set you an appointment to follow up on your pregnancy. It will be scheduled a few weeks from now. But for now, I'll right you a prescription for the pre-natal vitamins that you will need to take daily. I am also going to prescribe some calcium and some iron pills. The calcium is for your bones and your iron level was a bit low, so we are going to keep an eye on that. I'll have someone fetch the prescriptions for you; I don't want you wanting in the pharmacy in your condition." The doctor said. "Okay, thank you", Annie responded, not knowing what else to say. She was getting restless at the hospital. She didn't like the atmosphere. It all seemed so gloom and doom. "We will monitor you for a couple more hours or less, depending on how long it takes for the nurse to get your prescriptions. When the nurse returns she'll explain the instructions that the pharmacist gives her", the doctor said while he left the room. Annie was glad to have the room to herself; it would give her time to think things through. It turns out that she spoke too soon, someone came into her room. She thought it was the nurse, but to her surprise it was Liam. Annie was well, speechless to say the least. She did not know how to react. Liam on the other hand, didn't want to say the wrong thing because he knew that would lead to yet another argument between them. He didn't want to upset her, and he definitely did not want her to reject him. So he carefully said in the most endearing voice he had "Annie, how are you?" "I'm okay", Annie answered. There was a quiver or a shake in her voice. Had she given her anxiety away? Did Liam sense the fear present in her voice? Indeed Liam did. He knew very well when Annie was not giving him the whole story. But he did not want this moment to be ruined so he did not question Annie. "I should be getting released soon. I just have to stay out of trouble". Annie tried to force a joke, but neither of them thought that it was funny. It wasn't even worth a grin. It was killing Liam knowing that Annie wasn't telling him something. He wanted to know so bad what was bothering her so he could be there to fix it. At that moment when the two were staring at each other Liam wanted to hold Annie close in his arms, to comfort her, to kiss her. "Do you have a ride home?" Liam asked with the hopes that she would say NO. "Yeah, actually Adrianna will be back later. She'll drop me off at Naomi's", Annie answered. Honestly, she wanted to say No, but just by how awkward she felt around Liam right now knowing something he didn't, she couldn't take the pressure. In fact, the very conversation they were having was awkward, it was weird, and there was no life to it. Annie couldn't put up with that if they were to be alone together in Liam's car. "Well I'm gonna go" Liam said, not knowing what else to say or do. He too felt the awkwardness between them. As Liam was walking out Annie said "Liam, wait", she paused, he stopped and looked at her, "don't go" Annie said with an almost desperate tone. It was more of a need for him. Liam listened without hesitation. This time he sat close to Annie. The two sat in silence for a while. Annie reached for Liam's hand, caressed it, and slower tightened her grip. Several tears ran down her face. Liam knew when she did this that something was not just troubling her, but it was eating away her insides. The two looked up at each other. There was vulnerability in each one's eyes. They both wanted to kiss the other, but neither of them made the first move.

Again someone knocked at the door and Annie was slightly annoyed. It was the nurse. Annie shook off her feelings quickly not wanting Liam to ask the nurse any questions that would reveal her secret. The secret that was keeping them apart. Out of anything that could happen, she feared his rejection. "Liam could you uh…" Annie didn't have to finish. Although his curiosity stabbing his body, Liam excused himself from the room as Annie requested. "Well Annie I have the prenatal vitamins for you here. You must take them daily at the same time. It is important that you take them with your meal, preferably breakfast. Please try not to forget to take them" the nurse said. "Ok. Got it. And thank you." Annie said, not knowing what else to say. After all, this whole experience was something new. Who knew that Annie Wilson would be a single pregnant twenty something? "Well then, if you have no further questions, here is your appointment slip and you should be able to leave in a few more minutes, so just hang tight." The nurse said. When the nurse walked out, Liam came back into the room. "So what did she say?" Liam asked, but not expecting a straight answer. "She said I'll be able to leave soon" Annie replied. "Could I use your phone to call Ade?"Annie asked. "Yeah", Liam said handing Annie his cell phone. 'Hey Adrianna, it's Annie. I'm almost done here, do you still have time to pick me up? (Ade answers) Okay great. I'll be out front. (Ade answers). Okay thanks." Annie said. Annie could have easily caught a ride with Liam, after all he even offered to take her home. But she was so insecure, she didn't want to blurt anything out that she would later regret. Annie gave the phone back to Liam, avoiding his eye. He knew she was avoiding eye contact. She gathered her stuff and her little brown bag that would determine her and her baby's wellbeing. Liam walked with Annie out to the front. She finally had the courage to ask "How's Vanessa?" "She's okay, she's got some cuts and bruises of her own. She is at the bar right now. But I told her I was coming to see you." Liam said hoping to find a change in Annie's expression. Annie smiled in the inside. Her Liam still cared about her. In response she simply looked up and smiled at him. When Ade was driving up, Annie and Liam gave into a hug. Even though it was just a hug, it was deep. Annie fit perfectly into Liam's arms. Liam remembered Annie's smell, her touch, it's like he's been dead without her and he's never felt more alive than this very moment. Liam opened the car door for Annie. Annie said "Goodbye". There was love and sincerity behind that word. It struck Liam and he felt her love threw that goodbye. He knew what he had to do.

"Ade, I can't, not tell Liam. It's too hard to keep this from him. I need to find out if he's the father. Will you do something for me?" Annie said. Ade knew what she was going to ask. "Sure", Ade answered. "Ade, I need you to get a strand of Liam's hair, from a brush or something, anything", Annie said whilst knowing she sounded ridiculous. Ade wanted to chuckle, but she agreed. She would sneak into Liam's room and grab his brush or whatever. The two formulated plans and just talked. Annie was glad that Ade was the one who knew about her situation. She wondered how Ade felt about giving up her baby, how she coped. Annie wanted to ask, but now didn't seem like the time. Adrianna dropped off Annie. "Thank you so much Ade." Annie said with gratitude. Ade nodded with a smile and left.

Annie rushed into the house not wanting any attention. She didn't want anyone to know about the fight because in her state of mind that would lead to her talking about the B word. Annie lucked out; no one was in the main entrance she ran up the stairs and straight into her room. She was tired from the long day, and quite stressed out. All she wanted was a good night's sleep, so she quickly changed her clothes and jumped into bed. Surprisingly, she fell fast asleep. The next morning came around. Annie yawned and looked at the time. It was a quarter past eight. She yawned again and decided it was time to get ready. So she showers and gets dressed. She puts on some pre faded ripped jeans and a zebra printed halter top. She puts her hair into a messy ponytail and starts to do her makeup. Normally it doesn't take Annie too long to do her makeup, but today was different- she had to cover up the bruises on her face. Eventually she was done, so she casually walked downstairs to get some breakfast. That's when she remembered she had to take her vitamins as well, so once again she caught herself dashing up the stairs to her room, but this time she was stopped. "Where are you rushing to? Is there a guy in your room?" Naomi asked, jokingly at first but serious toward the latter part. "What. No. I was…I forgot my flats, and my purse, I'm going out to get something to eat." Annie said. "Great I'll go."Naomi said. "No, I mean, no, no, no I am meeting someone." Annie lied, which was also becoming a routine. Naomi studied her, but didn't make a big deal out of it. Now Annie had no choice but to go out for breakfast. She slipped on some ruby red flats grabbed her purse and made her way back down the stairs. Naomi waved her friend goodbye. Annie got into her car and drove. She didn't know where she was going, but she just wanted to drive. She found herself driving toward Liam's bar, once she realized this she made a turn in the opposite direction and parked in a parking lot. She decided to call Adrianna, she needed to talk with someone. "Adrianna (Hey Annie) I'm in the lot across from Liam's bar (what? What r u doing there?) I just drove here, but it doesn't matter. I don't know what I'm doing, can we hang out? get my mind off of things? (Definitely, I don't need to be at the bar until 1 today. Meet me at the diner just 2 blocks down, okay?) Alright thanks Ade". The two met at the local diner. Annie ordered while she waited for Ade. She was hungry and needed to eat plus she had to take the pills that she was prescribed. Ade arrived about 10 minutes later, and she ordered as well. The two talked about little things before going into the pregnancy topic. "Ade, I'm scared", Annie finally said. "What if it's not Liam's? I can't stand the pressure of not knowing. I could've ruined my life. If it's Patrick's well then…I don't know." Annie said. "Annie, I wish I knew what to say but I don't. You have to do what feels right to you." Annie needed to hear that. She had been whiny, maybe it was her hormones, but whatever it was she needed to get her act together. There food finally came, Annie ate and took her vitamins. When they finished eating, the two went to take a walk through the shops that were in that area. It wasn't anything fancy but it was something to do. About 2 hours had past so Ade still had an hour left so they decided to hang around the beach that was close to the bar, but not too close. Both Liam and Vanessa had noticed that Annie and Ade were outside. Vanessa just glanced out, not caring. Liam looked out and watched the two for a while. Liam wondered what was going on with Annie, he wanted to understand her, but he couldn't. He couldn't sleep last night. He couldn't stop thinking about Annie. "Liam", Vanessa said in an annoyed manner. "We have to get ready for the re-launch this weekend." Vanessa continued. "Vanessa, I don't like big extravagant events. Besides, the bar never closed, Ade kept the business going." Liam argued. "Trust me, I know what I'm doing." Vanessa said as innocently as she could. Liam just nodded, he had no other response to give. The hour had passed quickly so Ade had to go to work. She waved Annie goodbye while Annie walked to her car and Ade walked toward the bar. Adrianna was 10 minutes early as usual. "Adrianna, I need you to start with the tables." Vanessa asserted. "Yes ma'am" Ade answered sarcastically, after all, she worked for Liam not for Vanessa. Vanessa was in trouble with Liam, so she decided not to get into a word brawl with Ade, she just gave her a glare that could burn through the wall. Ade rolled her eyes. Liam walked in from the back, "Hey Adrianna, I see you've already gotten started so I'll let you do your job." Ade smiled. She needed to get to Liam's room, she'd been back there before but that was to get some tools and she was given directions as too where they were. Liam wasn't messy per say, he was just disorganized since the bar had taken off. Maybe it was pure luck, but Liam and Vanessa went outside together (Vanessa was showing him how she wanted the Off Shore sign to look), so Ade had the opportunity to sneak into the back room.

As quickly as she could she ran to the back. The door was never locked until the bar opened so Ade walked in. She ran to the dresser, there was no brush. She skimmed through the room, she sis not spot anything that could remotely be used for a DNA test. She decided to check their restroom, and sure enough their were two brushes. Right away she knew which one was Liam's obviously not the one with long blonde strands of hair sticking out of it. She quickly took several strands from Liam's brush and stuffed it into her apron. Ade quickly walked out of the restroom. Suddenly, she heard the bar door open. Ade ran into the closet. Another door opened, it was closer, the foot steps were near. Ade peered through the crack in the closet it was Vanessa. Apparently she was looking for a sketch that she drew to show Liam how she wanted the exterior to look. Soon enough Vanessa was gone. Ade waited until she heard Vanessa leave the bar. She carefully opened the door and stepped out almost all too quickly when so stumbled upon something and hit the floor. She quickly got herself up and was about to put away the things that she spilled, apparently she slipped over Vanessa's purse. Her wallet and several other small items were spread across the floor. Ade swiftly put the coins and other things back into her purse and was about to put her wallet back some money fell out. So Ade opened the wallet to put the money back. What she saw shocked her. Inside Vanessa's wallet was 7 different ID card all from different states not even remotely close to California. Ade took a second to think about what to do, she finally pulled out her phone and took a picture of each of Vanessa's ID's. When she finished, Ade tossed Vanessa's wallet back into purse and ran out back into the bar and tried to concentrate on doing her job. Throughout the day Ade couldn't help but feel paranoid, like Vanessa knew everything she knew. Ade couldn't wait to leave, to get away from Vanessa or whoever the hell she was.

**My thoughts were popping into my head faster than my writing, so I am sorry if some parts are scattered. Thank you guys for the reviews, keep them coming. Only a few more chapters left until I reach my conclusion. Hope you enjoyed reading this far. **


	5. Zipped Lips

Annie's phone was vibrating. It was Adrianna, she answered it. "Hey Ade, what's up? (Annie, I'm on break, I can't talk long but I got several strands of Liam's hair.) Thank you so much Ade, ugh I was so stressed, wondering if you were going to get it or not. (Listen Annie, I found out more about Vanessa, she's um, I can't tell you now, it's better that we speak in person.) Ade, what happened? (I'll talk to you later Annie, I've got to get back to work.) Ade!"

This conversation confused Annie. She started pacing back and forth in her room. What did Ade find out? Annie didn't know what to do. She wanted to dash straight to the bar, but she didn't want to see Vanessa or face another awkward confrontation with Liam. The phone vibrated again, Annie answered "Ade." It wasn't Adrianna, Annie didn't bother to look at her caller I.D. she just assumed that it was Ade.

"No, it's Dixon, you know your brother, you haven't texted or called in two days Annie like you usually do. I just wanted to see if you were alright." "Yeah, hey Dixon. I've just been sick, climate change or whatever, but I'm feeling better." "So you're alright? I can come over and make you some chicken soup or something." "Ha. I don't want to be food poisoned, besides I can't really hold any food down at the moment." "Okay then. I guess I'll talk to ya later." "Sure thing D." "Later Annie."

Annie felt distant with Dixon. She didn't know about his drug problem. He didn't know about her real relationship with Patrick (the job aspect of it), and he didn't know that she was pregnant. As dumb as it may seem, Annie began to cry again. 'Damn hormones!' she thought. She really hated all of her mixed emotions, she hated uncertainty. She wanted to stop crying but tears were still running down her face. Once again she would have to wash her face and reapply her makeup. Soon she was done crying so she started washing her face. When she was drying her face she looked into the mirror. She looked tired and stressed. The cheerful Annie was no more. The days of bull had taken a toll on her. It was time for her to do something productive; she was tired of being locked up in her room. Luckily she lived with a tall blonde that never ran out of ways to pass the time.

Annie made her way downstairs. It was about 4 in the evening; the house wasn't at all quiet. Ivy was taking pictures of very odd still objects so Annie thought that it would be best to not disturb her. Silver was never around ever since her relationship with Greg intensified. And Naomi was newly single again, so she would have tons of time to spare for Annie. "Hey Annie, finally decided to come out of the cave I see, you know when I finally got my inheritance I shopped and shopped and shopped, what have you bought?" Naomi said. Annie gave her a grin, "I went to Paris remember?" "That's not what I'm talking about, you need my training, come on Annie, let's hit the town and spend, spend spend." Naomi said excitedly. "Fine. But tell me why are you tripling words?" Annie said. "Who cares let's get out of here. I saw this amazing dress that I absolutely must have, I think it'll be great for my first event planning job that I scored." Naomi said. "Job. Wow did I hear correctly." Annie said playfully. "I am capable of becoming a successful career women, just you wait and see." Naomi said whilst they were getting into her car.

They drove to the shop where Naomi found her dream dress. Annie wondered what made Naomi so optimistic. She wished she was as blindly optimistic. "Annie, try this one on." Naomi ordered, "it's perfect for you." "No thanks, that's not going to fit me in a…a (Annie caught herself almost blowing her secret) a…that size, besides where would I wear it?" Annie added. "To a Naomi Clark event of course!" Naomi replied. Annie wrinkled her nose. "Well you're missing out," Naomi said as she was purchasing the dress that she absolutely had to have. As they walked out the door, Naomi couldn't help but being one for gossip asks "So how did your breakfast date go, you know the one so important that I couldn't tag along." "Oh that, it went well, there's not much to say about it." Annie said. "Okay so the date went well, but nothing special, oh yeah that's typical" Naomi said sarcastically. The conversation ended there because Naomi's phone rang. "Hi Liam", Naomi said. Annie turned green. "Oh, Vanessa? So what do you want?" Naomi asked. She could hear Liam in the background trying to stop Vanessa from doing something. "Liam mentioned that you were launching your own event planning business, and I was actually planning a re-launch of Liam's career, so I was actually calling for your expertise." Vanessa said. "Go on", Naomi insisted. "We need some idea's and general advice on how to plan this and well the bar needs to be redecorated for this grand reopening so it would be great if you could come over and show your party planning skills." Vanessa said. "Fine, I'll stop by, were only a few blocks away anyway, but you have to know, what I say goes." Naomi said and hung up.

Annie asked without words what the conversation was about. "People are already booking me to plan parties. (Annie was still lost) I'm doing a pro bono for the re-launch of Liam's bar so we are going to see what we can do with the place now, it is short notice and all." Naomi said. "Isn't the bar already open? I mean why have a re-launch, besides it is probably getting busy, it is a bar and it's evening." Annie said. "Oh Vanessa said they closed for tonight, for preparations." Naomi said. "Goody", Annie said making it obvious that she wasn't in the mood to see Vanessa.

Soon they arrived at the bar. Ade and another waitress were still their working and helping with shipment orders and finishing up the cleaning. Liam was still finding every excuse to stop the event from happening. Vanessa was busy ignoring Liam and was actually the one who greeted Naomi as the two women walked in. Obviously Vanessa ignored Annie, and vice versa. Liam was shocked to see Annie, he didn't think she would actually come back after what happened between her and Vanessa. Liam was going to make his way toward Annie, but she was a coward to her feelings so she casually walked to where Adrianna was. Ade directed Annie outside. Annie couldn't hold her curiosity any longer , "What did you find out about Vanessa?" she asked in a whisper as soon as they were outside. Liam saw the two outside talking. His curiosity was peaked, he decided to 'do some work' near the window so he could try to make out what Annie and Ade's conversation was about.

"Vanessa isn't who she says she is", Ade tells Annie. "What?" Annie asked, wanting Ade to be more specific. "That's all I can say now, but I will tell you later, but I can give you the hairs now. Annie just please stay away from Vanessa for now." Ade said. Annie knew how sincere Ade was being so no further questions were asked. Ade scooped out what was in her pocket and gave it to Annie. Annie quickly and cautiously put the pieces into a zipped section of her wallet. As Liam watched from the window he was more curious than ever. He couldn't see what the two were secretly passing to one another, but he had some idea's forming in his head given Ade's past and all. He wanted to run outside to see what they were up to, but he didn't want Annie to think that he was being intrusive so once again Liam let this fly by.

Adrianna eventually came back into the bar, Annie went to go wait in Naomi's car, she needed to get to the hospital right away. Liam quickly went to talk to Adrianna. "Hey, Ade, I think we have everything under control here so if you want you can go home now." "Oh thanks, Liam, I am beat." "Yeah, since this whole re launch thing is officially going to happen, I'll need you to be here on Saturday all day." Ade nodded. "Do you think Annie is going to come?" Liam finally had the courage to ask. "I don't know." Ade answered. "Oh I just thought that she might have said something about coming since you two have been hanging out a lot." "No, she hasn't mentioned it yet. Honestly, I don't think she'll show up, she's been tired lately from traveling I guess. I don't know." "She's been back for over a week now, Dixon seems to have re adapted." "Like I said Liam, I don't know much. Besides, Annie was in the hospital remember? She is probably just trying to recuperate." Liam felt bad now. "Well if she needs anything, let her know to call me, alright?" "I'm not sure about that Liam, I'll see you tomorrow."

Naomi was still inside, with her imagination running wild so Annie decided to catch a ride with Adrianna. This worked out well because Annie wanted to talk to Ade and figure out what was going on. "So am I taking you to Naomi's or do you want to head to the hospital?" Ade asked Annie. "The hospital" Annie managed to say. "Ade, tell me what happened." Annie asked. "Okay. When I snuck into their room I stumbled on Vanessa's purse and some of her stuff fell out. When I was putting her money back into her wallet, I found 7 different ID cards. I have the pictures on my phone if you want to see them. I Googled one of her aliases- Claire Hallenberg- she has a record with the police in two states, Annie." "What? Are you serious? What do we need to do?" "Well I checked, there is no warrant for her arrest with any of her other names, but we have to tell Liam." "NO….. I'll tell Liam. Ade I have to do this." "Annie." "No Ade, let me do this, please, Liam has to hear this from me." "Okay Annie. What are you going to say?" "I'll have to figure that out." "Annie, Liam is getting suspicious about what were doing, I can't be around him without feeling like I'm undergoing a lie detector test." "Well just lay low for a couple more days, the DNA test only takes a few days, right." "Yeah, but-." "Ade, let's just drop it okay." Now that Annie knew about Vanessa, she was just too anxious to find out the biological father of her baby. She wanted nothing but just to have a sense of inner peace in her life at this moment.

Once again Ade and Annie were at the hospital. Annie signed in with her doctor. Eventually she was called on, Ade waited in the waiting room. "Hello Ms. Wilson, what can I do for you this evening?" Her doctor asked. "I got some hair samples from my uh…from who I think the biological father is." Annie said this while rummaging through her purse to take out her wallet where she put the strands. "Okay, great. Let's have a let me get some test tubes in her so we can send it to the lab. I'll be back in a minute or two." The doctor said as he left the room to get some sterilized test tubes. When he came back Annie had the samples in her hand. The doctor picked them up with forceps. "Annie, some of these are not useable, they don't have the follicle intact at the root." The doctor did fine two that were usable samples for the DNA test. "Okay, I'll send these over to the lab and you will receive a letter in a few days with the results. Do you have any further questions or concerns?" The doctor asked. "Yeah could I have a discreet looking pill box, for my medication, you know so I can keep some in my purse." Annie said. "Ok. Follow me Ms Wilson, I'll get you one."

Annie felt much better. She was relieved that she got that off the way. Annie gave Ade a hug when she went to see Ade in the waiting room, it was out of appreciation. "Do you feel better?" Ade asked. Annie released a deep breath "Yes. Thank you so much Ade for being there for me. I don't know if I could have held myself together if I was going through this alone." "You're Welcome. Well let's get you home mommy." Ade said. Annie laughed.

Naomi wasn't home yet, she was probably still on an event planning frenzy. Ivy was gone, so Annie was all alone in the mansion. She decided to put on a movie and just relax. Despite what she learned about Vanessa, she was still high on life, something felt different today. She knew that things would work out in one way or another.

**Thank you all for the reviews, it motivates me to write the next chapter. Please review.**


	6. Internal Battles

Once again Annie wakes up to morning sickness so she quickly dashes to the restroom and throws up. So she decides to get ready from there as usual. Annie still applied a little more makeup than normal to cover up the bruises she had from the fight. She used up the last of her foundation so she made a mental note that she had to buy another one later on today. Today she slipped on a dark wash short denim cut-off and paired it with a bikini underneath (luckily she didn't put on any baby weight yet) with a sheer white wide neck tee that zipped up from the back. Once she was done dressing up she transferred some of her prenatal pills into the small round pill box she got from the hospital. It could hold a weeks worth, she liked it and on the plus side people wouldn't know what it was when she took it. Before heading downstairs she slipped on some dressy flip flops to play up her outfit.

"Good Morning everybody", Annie said cheerfully as she got downstairs into the kitchen. "Hey Annie", Ivy said while snapping a picture of her adding to her random collection. "Well look who decided to join us this morning", Naomi said. "I could say the same, I thought you would be working by now", Annie said back. "I don't do mornings…for bars anyway. Plus, they don't need me until tomorrow for set up", Naomi said.

Annie was listening to what Naomi had envisioned at the same time she was making a morning shake for herself. Ivy requested for a shake as well. "Wow, that sounds grand", Annie said in response to Naomi's story. "Of course it will be, I'm going to wear the new dress there!" Naomi exclaimed. "Wait, a dress to a bar?" Ivy asked even though that was typical Naomi. The question was obviously ignored. Annie began fiddling around at the opposite end of the counter to take her pill (it was distinctively different from her birth control pill she used to take –openly) without the others seeing. She lucked out, neither Naomi or Ivy saw her take it. Once Ivy and Annie finished their morning shakes, Ivy proposed that they all hang out (secretly Ivy was trying to keep her mind off of her Raj and Nick dilemma). Annie and Naomi knew that Ivy's idea of hanging out was being beachside. The two looked at each other and eventually agreed.

"So where did you have in mind?" Annie asked Ivy. "I was thinking we could hit the beach or something" Ivy said in her laid back voice "besides it looks like your dressed appropriately." Annie didn't know why she had a bikini set on under her clothes, and she was a little embarrassed being caught off guard by Ivy. Annie just smiled. "Well since it's decided, I have to make a major change in my wardrobe, be right back ladies." Naomi said. Naomi walked out in an insanely hot acid yellow D&G ruched bandeau bikini top with charcoal black short shorts with a cut off hem. Ivy and Annie gave Naomi the round of applause that she expected. Ivy quickly changed into a black bikini with well worn indigo board shorts. She put on a pink rip curl tee on top and slipped on some flip flops.

They all rode in Ivy's jeep even though Naomi was a bit hesitant about it at first. Ivy drove to her favorite spot. She always had surf boards in the back of her jeep, so she took one out and began walking toward the water, but coming short only to sit in the sand. Naomi brought an umbrella that she set up. Annie sat underneath as well.

The waves were somewhat calm, so they didn't interest Ivy as much. They all sat under the umbrella talking about various things because all of them had their minds preoccupied with other subjects. After a quiet few minutes, Ivy dared to ask "Do ya guys want to learn how to surf?" "First of all, I am not a guy, and second, have you seen my swimsuit, one fall and I'm nude…although I still wouldn't look bad at all" Naomi said. "Surf, really?" Annie said and thought about the idea. "Well yeah, I could just teach you the basics, nothing big." Ivy said. "Hmmm, fine _sensei_." Annie replied. "Boo-yeah!" Ivy said ecstatically.

Ivy raced to her jeep to get her spare board. "Annie, you can't be serious." Naomi said. "C'mon Naomi, live a little. You know, I've always kinda wanted to learn…" Annie said. "Ahuh, okay whatever." Naomi said. Ivy quickly returned, along with her excitement and extra surfboard. "Okay Annie, c'mon" Ivy motioned. Annie quickly got up and raced toward Ivy. Her feet hit the sand in smooth glides, as they got closer, the moistness felt good between her toes. She was actually having fun.

First, they practiced on the sand, learning to stand on the board. It took awhile but Annie was getting used to it. She enjoyed what she was doing. Now it was time to get into the water. Annie threw off her white sheer shirt and denim only to reveal an electric green barely there bikini. They were going to practice at paddling in the water. Ivy first demonstrated and Annie watched. She soon imitated Ivy and her motions. Annie was improving. Soon she was dunking down under water.

"Whoa, Annie, what happened?" Ivy said, interrupting and halting the training. "Huh?" Annie asked in stupidity. "What happened? You have bruises on your face. Maybe we should get out of the water dude." Ivy said, knowing that she probably didn't want all the details. "Oh that. Um. It's nothing." Annie said feeling stupid that she forgot about having purple blotches on her face. Annie also just remembered that she had forgotten to purchase some more facial foundation as well to do major cover up. After several minutes of just floating in the water Ivy finally had the courage to say "Listen Annie, I know it's probably none of my business, but did Patrick do that to you… I mean are you still seeing him or something?" "What? God NO!" Annie said, sounding overly defensive. Annie hated the mention of Patrick's name because that triggered alarm bells in her head which reminded her that there was a 50% chance that Patrick would be guy that got her pregnant. She felt nauseous again. "Maybe your right Ivy, let's head to shore. And FYI I haven't seen Patrick in a long time, trust me." Annie said to make clear. The two paddled to shore. Annie wrung out her hair, as did Ivy. "Oh My God Annie, what happened?" Naomi said looking up. Naomi wasn't paying attention to what they were doing in the water, so she just assumed that Annie banged her face against something. "Nothing." Annie said. Naomi knew she was hiding something. Naomi and Ivy both glanced at each other, both utterly clueless about Annie's situation. "Well, I'm hungry I didn't eat this morning, let's go eat somewhere." Naomi said whilst trying to break the silence. "Okay then. I could use a boost." Ivy said. "Agreed." Annie said. "But let's stop at a beauty shoppe or something. I need foundation or powder. I don't want stares." Annie said in a hinting manner telling Ivy and Naomi to back off on future questions. "Fine." Naomi said as Ivy agreed with the nod of her head.

Annie quickly went into a shop to buy her necessities, she would have sent Naomi in, but she didn't know her shade. Annie quickly came out as to avoid anymore second glances after she bought her product. They soon drove up to a local "restaurant" to eat, it wasn't fancy and it didn't need to be, given that Ivy and Annie were partially soaked. Naomi went to get a table while Ivy and Annie went to go dry off some more. Ivy quickly left and joined Naomi at their table. Annie could wait for Ivy to leave. She had held her urge to purge for quite awhile. She ran into the stall, kneeled over and threw-up.

Meanwhile Naomi and Ivy sat at the table discussing what was going on with Annie. They both knew that she was hiding something. "She just got very pale when I mentioned Patrick's name, and she sounded awfully defensive about it." Ivy told Naomi. Before Naomi could respond, the two heard familiar voices "Hey guys, what brings you to this side of town?" Liam said. "Oh we were just hanging out and soaking up the sun." Ivy said in her monotone. Liam lifted his brow. He wondered what the women were previously talking about because he heard Patrick's name and Naomi looked a tad bit uncomfortable at first sight. " Yeah Vanessa and I just thought we'd take a break." Liam said. "Liam was desperate for a break, he doesn't take long hours well." Vanessa said sitting down, inviting herself to there table. Liam rolled his eyes. Ivy just gestured Liam to sit down as well. She thought that it would be rude to chase him off after his girlfriend (whom she didn't know well at all) sat at their table. Besides, Ivy didn't know about the inner confrontation that Annie had within herself about Liam and the said Patrick.

[Back to Annie in the bathroom] Annie again wiped her mouth and rinsed with the portable mouthwash that she carried in her purse. She took off the wrappings of the facial product and began to apply it to her face. She took one last look into the mirror to make sure she had full coverage, and she walked out with her head down as to not draw attention to herself. She soon got to the table where the crowd of friends were (and Vanessa). She looked shocked to see Liam. She froze for what seemed like minutes. Even when told to sit down by Naomi, Annie was hesitant. She remembered her appearance from the restroom mirror, her hair was undone in a wet mess, her shirt was practically see through from the water and it clung to her skin like gum on the ground. Liam on the other hand saw what he always saw when he looked at her, a beautiful girl. He too had an inward battle; he knew he had a girlfriend whom he liked but he knew deep down that his heart would always belong to Ms. Annie Wilson. When Liam saw Annie like that it reminded him off how they use to wake up in the morning next to each other. Her hair wasn't perfect, it was a mess, her clothes didn't fit her well (of course she would be wearing his shirt). Those were the days he thought. Annie couldn't help but have feelings for Liam, she truly loved him, but she couldn't admit it, not now anyway. Although awkward silences would come over the group they still managed to converse with one another, except Vanessa and Annie, and everyone in the group acknowledged that.

Their orders soon arrived and they began to eat. Vanessa got a phone call, so she quickly stepped out of the restaurant to talk without disturbing the others. Annie usually loved pancakes, but today it made her want to vomit. She excused herself and dashed once again toward the restrooms. Naomi and Ivy decided to follow, to finally get to the bottom of things. This was going way to far they both thought, after all they both cared about Annie.

Liam was left alone at the table. Both Annie and Naomi left their bags their, so he couldn't leave. Liam again was having an argument with his conscience. He knew he shouldn't. He wouldn't. He couldn't. Could he? Once again his curiosity beat his conscience. He glanced at Vanessa, she was still blabbering away on her phone. Liam reached under the table to grab Annie's purse, hoping to find what was causing the awkwardness. He passed Annie's wallet and started looking for something that could connect to her still seeing Patrick. He came across a round object and quickly took it out. It was a pill box. He opened it. It wasn't Annie's birth control pills, he knew what those ones looked like, these were different. His heart began to race. His thoughts were true, Annie was on drugs. Everything seemed to fit. She hung out with Ade ( a former addict…or maybe just an addict now). She passed on her favorite breakfast to 'withdraw'. Ade passed Annie something suspicious the other night outside his bar, and now he knew what it was. . He quickly took one out and put the rest back and tossed it in the bag and placed it where he grabbed it from. He placed the pill in his jeans pocket, and just in time because the ladies were returning.

[The conversation in the restroom while Liam was being a detective] "Annie cut the crap and tell me what's wrong" Naomi said trying to get to the point. It didn't help because Annie just started to cry again. "Just leave me alone!" Annie threatened. "Annie…" Ivy said "were your friends…we can help." "Ivy's right, trust us. Annie just talk to us." Naomi said in a sudden change of voice realizing her other tone may have sounded offensive. Annie went in for a hug. "I can't tell you now. It 's not the right time you guys." Annie said while tears ran down her face. "Annie were here for you, we are your friends. Does this have anything to do with Patrick?" Naomi asked. Annie looked down. She couldn't lie to them now, after all they were being really sincere. "Yes. But it's not what you think. I'm not seeing Patrick as his girlfriend or as a client. I have my own money now." Annie said after sighing. "Then how is he involved?" Ivy asked in a surprise but subtle way. "Like I said, I can't tell you guys right now. But trust me, it is nothing to worry about." Annie said. "We do worry about you Annie. We can't just drop it like it's nothing." Naomi said while Ivy agreed. "If it makes ya'll feel any better I haven't had contact with Patrick since the day you all found out what was going on between us. Honestly." Annie said. Naomi and Ivy just nodded, they didn't know how else to intervene, Annie wasn't going to talk until she was ready. So they just all walked out together to get back to their breakfast.

"We're back" Naomi declared to Liam. "I see that." Liam said eyeing Annie. He examined her a little more closely as they sat down. She wore more makeup than he remembered. She looked drained like something was eating away at her. Vanessa soon came back in. "Hey who was that?" Liam asked. "Well, that was the manager for the All American Rejects. They agreed to perform at the re launch party on Saturday." Vanessa said enthusiastically. "Really?" Liam asked as a smile spread across his face. "That's awesome" Ivy said. Annie smiled and nodded in agreement. Inside, she envied Vanessa for being the one who put a smile on Liam's face. "Well it seems like you have everything under control" Naomi said to Vanessa. "I do." Vanessa said in a haughty voice. "So what do you all have planed for the rest of the day?" Liam asked. "Well Ivy declared a hang out day at the beach, but it was a bore watching Ivy and Annie surf." Naomi said. "Annie you surf?" Liam asked in shock while Vanessa's eyes darted at her. "Uh no, not really, Ivy was just giving me a lesson or two…yeah" Annie said. "Isn't that nice of Ivy" Vanessa stated. Ivy faked a chuckle not knowing how else to react. "How about you two?" Annie finally blurted out "Any plans?" "Vanessa is going out of town to pick up something that couldn't be delivered directly. I'm just going to hang, hopefully I get to catch some waves too, with you." Liam said, without realizing what he said at the latter part that would make Vanessa's head set fire. Annie couldn't help but lightly blush. "Thanx, but I've had enough learning for one day. I think I am going to call it a day for the water." Annie said. She felt tired, she wanted to sleep. Liam thought she was lying. He just looked away and rolled his eyes as if she wouldn't notice. She noticed, and she wanted to burst and release her hormonal imbalances. "Naomi, Ivy are you done? We should be going you know so we can do our plans." Annie said irritated. They really had no plans, but they obeyed. They left as soon as they paid for their food.

**Hey fellow fanfic readers, THANKS for the reviews! Keep reviewing. Sorry it take longer to get this chapter up. I have tons of Homework and Finals in a few weeks, so I'll be busy. I'll be working on the next chapter but it may take awhile to be posted.**


	7. Anxiety Attack

Annie stormed out of the restaurant in angst. She felt betrayed, not only by Liam, but by herself, because of the lies that she was drowning in. Naomi and Ivy followed close behind her, both lost in utter confusion. Annie quickly jumped into the back seat of Ivy's jeep and crossed her arms indicating that she was in no mood to discuss what came over her. Ivy hopped in to the driver's seat and Naomi quietly sat down on the passenger side. Silence filled the vehicle, but it wasn't a peaceful scene to picture. Eyes were darting, hearts were beating and ruthlessness filled the air amidst them. Annie was not in an apologetic mood, she remained stubborn the entire trip home refusing to interact with the others among her. As soon as the vehicle came to a halt, Annie jumped out and made a retreat to the front door. She was so flustered that it was rather difficult for her to unlock it and open it. Alas she did.

Annie ran to her room, slammed the door shut and pressed her face against her pillow only to scream as loud as she could to release all the hurt she felt inside.

Ivy and Naomi were no longer in the mood to deal with Annie. "What crawled up her ass?" asked Ivy to Naomi. "The hell with her, whatever, I'm going out to do some errands, good luck with the bitch here." Naomi said. Ivy decided to stay in her room as well. Naomi changed into some other clothes and left the house.

After a few minutes of continuous crying, Annie eventually stopped. She wiped her tears and sat up on her bed. Why did Liam make me flip out? She thought. He didn't do anything offensive. No, no, he did, he didn't believe me. He hasn't believed me for a long time now. He only wants to believe me. I hate that. He is just so…UGH! Annie thought. Well I don't exactly tell him the truth about what's going on with me. I don't even tell my friends what's happening. Damn, I even lied to my own brother. Fuck, I screwed things up! I guess I should set things straight with my friends first. Annie thought. "It's settled" she said aloud.

Annie got a small suitcase out and began packing. She packed 3 sets of clothes including her nightwear. She dug around in her bag and found her phone. She pushed speed dial #3. "Dixon hey. (Hey Annie, what's up?) Not much, I'm just packing. (Packing?) Yeah, I was wondering, could I crash at your place for a night or two? (Oh, um yeah. What's going on over there?) I think I just need some space…actually, I've just been a real bitch to Ivy and Naomi, so I think I should take a few days to cool off away from them. They probably need a vacation from me anyway. (Yeah sis, definitely you can stay. It'll just be you and Ade though. I have a meeting out of town, I'm leaving tonight and won't be back until tomorrow evening.) Oh okay, don't let me stop you. And D, thanks. (Anytime Annie, anytime.) Bye."

Annie gathered her stuff and loaded it into her car. She left a note inside for Naomi and Ivy, and it read:

'Nay, Ivy, I'm sorry. I'm staying at a friend's house this evening. I won't be back for a

couple of days. Don't worry I'm fine. Again I'm sorry. Forgive me? -Annie'

Annie got into her car and drove to her brothers apartment. She unloaded her stuff and carried it to the doorstep. She didn't even have time to knock, the door quickly swung open. It was Dixon. He held out his hands and Annie replied with a hug. "Annie, I'm leaving in a few minutes, I got the couch ready for you, and sorry we don't have the _Clark_ accommodations here." Dixon said. Annie laughed "Funny. I just appreciate you letting me stay, last minute and all." Annie said. Dixon brought his sisters stuff in and left to skip town.

"Hey Annie!" Ade said as she walked into the living area. "Hi Ade!" Annie said. She felt comfortable around Ade, because with her she could be honest. "So how have you been putting up these few days?" Ade asked. "Honestly, I feel horrible. All my relationships are crashing down around me, and I'm left stuck in the debris. I just feel so stressed, I'm anxious, and scared. I want to find out what the DNA results say, but than again, it might be better not knowing. What if..." Annie was saying. "Annie, there are no more what if's. Just patience. Besides, the results will arrive any day now." Ade said. "You're right." Annie said.

Meanwhile Liam and Vanessa were back at the bar. "So I'm thinking we set up the stage right here." Vanessa said. "Eh" Liam responded. He was too preoccupied thinking about Annie. Vanessa noticed his ignorance and it enraged her that she wasn't the center of his attention. She thrived off attention; she needed Liam to get what she wanted. "Liam, the All American Rejects are performing here, everything has to be perfect." Vanessa said in a manner that would bring Liam's attention back to her. "Fine. That seems to be a good enough spot. Why are you even asking me? You hired Naomi to help you with this shit." Liam said. Vanessa eyed him. She could feel him growing distant from her, she couldn't let that happen, so she decided to let him _win _this time around. "Whatever. I'll call Naomi, where is your phone?" Vanessa asked, as if she didn't have her own phone. Liam hesitated but eventually he handed his phone over to her. "Hello Naomi. This is Vanessa. I was wondering if you could come over and help us organize the stage. (I can't right now, I'm busy. But I have a few layout ideas at my house, Liam can pick it up.)Okay great where are they at? (Just tell Liam to ask Ivy or Annie to get them, they know where I keep the blueprints. Actually just ask Ivy, Annie is a loose cannon today.) I noticed that, is everything alright with her?" Vanessa asked.

Liam was suddenly interested in the phone conversation.

"(I don't know. She won't talk to me, she's acting distant.) Oh I see, isolation always has an explanation, it's just too bad you don't know what's going on. (Exactly. She isolates herself; I think it has something to do with Patrick.) Who's Patrick? (I should go, I'm in traffic.)" [Naomi lied. She figured she was saying too much, after all, Annie hated Vanessa. Who was she to reveal things that weren't someone else's business.] Vanessa was satisfied; she knew Liam was listening in on her conversation. The only way to make Liam her puppet was to cut the ties between him and Annie.

Liam was listening to the conversation. He wanted to know what was said about Patrick. It was no doubt that when asked by Vanessa to swing by Naomi's house that Liam would accept. He jumped into his car and raced to Naomi's place. He was so anxious that he sped through town unknowingly and arrived at Naomi's house quite quickly. Liam ran to the door step and agitatedly knocked on the door. To his surprise, Ivy answered the door, he wasn't prepared for this. How was he supposed to ask for Annie, directly or indirectly? "Hey Ivy, uh, I was suppose to pick up some blueprint from Naomi, she said you knew where it was." Liam said. "Oh yeah, Naomi called and said to expect you. I didn't think you'd get here that fast. Come on in, you can wait in the kitchen, I'll get you the layouts." Ivy said as she closed the door and walked off.

Liam walked into the kitchen. He hadn't been to Naomi's house since, well, since Annie walked out on him to do whatever she had to do. It gave the room a morbid feeling. He saw a note laying flat on the countertop. Normally, Liam wasn't a nosy person, but he recognized the handwriting, it was Annie's, so he decided to read it at a distance. Whose house is she staying out, why does she need forgiveness Liam thought. He didn't want Ivy to know that he read the note so he walked to the other side of the counter and sat down on the bar stool with more and more questions occupying his head. "Here it is dude." Ivy said while handling over the layout plans. "Oh thanks. Hey is, uh, Annie here? I just wanted to see how she was, you know given what happened this afternoon." Liam said slyly. "Sorry, she is not here. I got a call from Dixon saying that Annie is with Ade at their place, he just wanted to let us know because he sensed that she was acting a little distraught." Ivy said. "Oh. Okay. Thanks Ivy, I'll see ya around." Liam said. "Yeah okay" Ivy said.

Liam walked out the door and left. He didn't like the idea of Annie and Ade hanging out, he thought Ade was a bad influence at this point. He wanted so badly to barge over to where Annie was staying and give her a piece of his mind, but he didn't. He had to get the layouts back to Vanessa. She was really getting on his nerves lately. She used a lot of his money for this party that he didn't even want. She rarely said thank-you when he did something for her. He doesn't know how he feels about her anymore. This time he didn't race back to the offshore. He took his time; his mind was filled with questions about Annie. He was conflicted. He needed answers starting with the pill that he pulled out of his pocket.

Once he got back to the bar Liam handed Vanessa the blueprints, and he went to the room. He went online to Google images and typed in the words "white pill drug". There were thousands of pictures and he began looking through them, some looked similar but it was not exactly the same. He scanned through several pages worth, but he could not find anything that sparked information.

Meanwhile, Naomi arrived back home. "Ivy, I'm back. Did Liam stop by?" Naomi shouted so her voice could be heard throughout the house. Ivy walked into the room "Hey Naomi. Yeah Liam stopped by, I gave him the layouts and he left." Ivy said. "Oh. Well anyway, I have some mail for you and the rest are Annie's." Naomi said. "Any of them marked from Patrick?" Ivy asked. "No, just junk mail mostly, bills and two things from the hospital." Naomi said. "The hospital?" Ivy asked, puzzled as ever. "I know, it's fishy, one is from the DNA lab and the other looks like a medical bill. But I didn't look in them even though I was and still am super curious about what she was there for. Did she say anything about being in the hospital? It can't be Dixon's bill because the hospital is not affiliated with the rehabilitation center." Naomi said. "Let me see." Ivy said. "Where are you taking them?" Naomi asked. "Just to the floor lamp." "Don't you think this could be the answer to why Annie is not talking to us? It might explain why she has bruises on her face." Ivy convincingly said. "Okay. But we can't open it. I can't lose Annie's trust again. Ivy held the Lab letter toward the light. "Okay, I can make out… NT….TE…T. So it is something test." Ivy said. "Ivy put it down; I don't feel right about this anymore." Naomi said. "Fine." Ivy said as she handed the envelope back to Naomi. Naomi had a pretty good idea what those letters stood for; she had seen those exact letters when she was snooping through her sister's purse a few years ago.

Meanwhile, "Mean girls is always a good movie to watch" Annie said. "It always makes me laugh no matter how many times I watch it." "I know right. I had to beg Dixon not to throw this movie away when we were getting rid of some stuff to keep more essentials in the house." Ade said. "Is Dixon suspicious?" Annie asked. "Well, not really, he knows that something is up, but I think he just wants to trust you to tell him when you're ready on your terms." Ade said. "Ade, if this baby is Patrick's, I don't know what I am going to do. I don't think I want anybody to know about it. I know that's impossible, but it just feels icky, you know. I wish I never met Patrick. I can't believe that I would stoop so low for money. I think that's why I find myself not wanting to face people. I feel like they are going to judge me, just by what I've done." Annie said. "We all get ourselves into trouble. Sure some mistakes that we make are bigger than others, but that's life Annie. It's filled with mistakes that we can learn from, and without them, where is the lesson in life?" Ade said. "That's what I like about you Ade. You have all this positive energy surrounding you. It's even there when you have to work with the she-witch." Annie said. "Regina George?" Ade asked playfully. "[laughs] Don't even compare Vanessa to Regina George, Regina is flawless, and fictional!" Annie said. "Hey I just said it to cheer you up." Ade said. The two went on laughing and recapping quotes from the movie.

Meanwhile, Liam wasn't having any luck finding anything out about the pill that he found in Annie's bag. He placed the pill in his pocket and finally decided to go outside to get some fresh air. He took a walk along side the beach and sat beachside about a mile away from the bar. He lay back thinking about Annie. He could no longer keep his mind off of her. He knew from this moment that her wasn't over Annie, in fact, he didn't even think that he ever stopped loving her. Vanessa was a cheap rebound, someone who he would try to use to fill the hole in his heart. But she never could; besides, she never really listened to him. In the meantime, Vanessa watched Liam from afar, and when he disappeared into the distance she ran into their room. She sat at the computer and hit the history button to see what was occupying Liam's time. She found out that he was looking up pills, but what caught her attention was one search query that said _how to find out if someone is on drugs._ She also found out that Liam spent sometime on a social network. She clicked the link, and it was no surprise to her on whose profile it was. It was Annie Wilson's Facebook page. She now had a hunch that Liam suspected Annie of taking drugs, and she was going to make this work to her advantage. An evil smile crept across Vanessa's face as she logged off the computer and walked out of the room as if she was never even there. A few minutes Liam walked in and just walked straight past Vanessa. But she didn't care, by tomorrow evening, Annie would be history, and there would be no one left to stand in her way. "Sweet dreams Liam" Vanessa said in a sweet voice, and in a whisper she said "Sweet dreams Annie". Her grin became more malicious as she stood in the dark devising her plan.


	8. Realization is Bliss

Annie woke up at 6:00 am, she had a restless night. Her back was aching like hell, so she got up and decided to take a hot shower to help relieve the immense pressure she was feeling. The hot water ran down her body, but it barely reduced the pain she was feeling. Soon enough she turned the cold knob all the way off, but she still had such an ache in her back. A few minutes later she gave up on trying to alleviate the throbbing sensation in her back and just got out of the shower. She slipped on some cut offs and a bright green form fitting V neck. She left the restroom and sat on the couch for a few minutes in complete silence without a thought in her mind. She sighed aloud unknowingly, and it wasn't until she yawned that she came back down to earth as they say.

She turned on the TV, but nothing she liked watching was on, after all it was only 6:30 am. She finally decided to watch the news channel since nothing interesting was showing. According to the meteorologist, the weather was supposed to be good today. Twenty minutes later, Annie fell into a doze. She then began to dream. In her dream she was in immeasurable pain, something that could not be described or put onto a scale. It wasn't just a physical pain, but an emotional pain as well. Her dream was told in a flashback fashion. She pictured herself clenching her abdominal region gasping for dear life. The next minute she was in the hospital, she was surrounded by a surgical team. They were all moving in slow motion, and she was watching their every movement with her blurred vision. And in her dream, she pictured herself crying in the shower and at this point she closed her eyes. When she opened her eyes Ade was sitting at her bedside with swollen eyes and clutching Annie's hand. Annie turned to her side toward Ade with a blank stare as if she didn't recognize her friend. Her eyes closed again and she saw herself laying face down in the tub. She was numb everywhere, not being able to feel anything. Once her eye's closed shut, she felt a cutting sensation, but there was no pain involved. Ade wasn't there until she blinked again. This time when she reopened her eyes, she felt tears flowing down her face and the surroundings were gloomy and cold and empty. She was empty inside. It had taken Annie several minutes to realize what Ade told her. It finally kicked in, she lost her baby in a fall. The only thing that was keeping her life endurable was gone in an instance. She sobbed and screamed and kicked, but nothing could overthrow her suffering. All the activity made her pant, she was struggling to breath. This part of her dream caused her to actually jump up and wake up from the nightmare that she just had.

She ran outside for fresh air to catch her breath. That dreadful nightmare had a certain realism to it- the one's you love could be lost in an instant, and if you don't do anything about, you will live life in unbearable pain and it will always be there no matter how much you kick and scream and cry. At once Annie understood what she had to do, she was now fully aware that she had to follow what her heart has been telling her this whole time. Annie took her phone out of her pocket and pushed speed dial #2. The phone rang and rang in her ear, she had no intention of hanging up. "Sorry, I can't answer the phone right now, I'm busy running a bar." The voice message system said. "Liam. We need to talk. It's important. Call me back." Annie said. She wished he had answered his phone but he was probably still sleeping.

However, Liam wasn't sleeping; he was just getting out of the shower when the phone stopped ringing. Vanessa was also awake and she was holding Liam's phone in her hand as the words _Annie calling_ was blinking on the screen. Vanessa took the initiative to listen to the voicemail, she decided that it was time to put her plan into full swing, but first, she deleted the message. Vanessa quickly got dressed, and Liam finally came out of the restroom. Vanessa went in to brush her hair and her teeth. Usually Vanessa tells him when he missed someone's phone call, and he knew that he heard his phone ring so he checked it. Even though Vanessa erased the message, she didn't delete the missed call from Annie tab. Liam saw that Annie called, but why didn't Vanessa tell him? He thought it would be best not to ask, he would have to play clueless in order to see what Vanessa's true intentions were.

"Liam, I'm going to pick up some last minute items downtown. It might take awhile, so you don't have to wait on me." Vanessa said. "Okay." Liam said. He did not even have the smallest intention for waiting on her, he couldn't wait on her if he was going to follow her. Vanessa took off in her small maroon car. Liam realized that he didn't have a way to follow her, his motorcycle was in the shop and besides, he needed a vehicle that she didn't recognize that way he wouldn't be conspicuous. But when he saw the direction Vanessa was heading in, she was not going downtown. Liam ran to the nearest department store, he knew a guy who worked there. He ran inside and luckily found the guy. Even though it seemed rude to just come in and ask for a favor, there was an underlying good cause to what he asked "Hey man, I need to borrow your car. I can't explain now, but I need to use it right away. Can I please borrow your car", he asked begging. "Yeah man, no need for details, you did me a solid before, so take it. Here, let me give you the keys." The guy said without any further questions. "Thanks man I owe you!" Liam said as he rushed out the door. He quickly went into the direction that Vanessa went in. It was a good thing that there were no other turn offs in that area, so she only had one direction to go in. If Liam wasn't paying attention, he would have missed Vanessa coming out of a corner alley trying not to look obvious. It looked like she was carrying a set of directions. Vanessa got into her car and drove off. Liam followed, but not too closely. There were headed into a housing area. The deeper they drove into the twists and turns of the area, the more rundown it looked. Finally Vanessa came to a halt by a boarded up house. Liam drove on a little more so as to not get caught. He watched Vanessa in the rear view mirror. A gangster guy comes out of the seemingly unoccupied house and hands Vanessa a clear plastic bag. Liam couldn't believe it, Vanessa was buying drugs. He took out his phone and snapped a couple of pictures, and he didn't know it at the time, but a short video as well. He soon darted out of the area, so he could get back to the bar to make it seem as if he had no suspicions whatsoever.

Annie assumed that Liam got her message, so all she had to do was wait. Ade was up now as well. Annie shared her nightmare and her absolution. The two talked about it over breakfast. Moments after they were done eating, the doorbell rang. Ade ran to the door to answer it. "Hey Naomi, come in." Ade said. Annie was shocked to see Naomi. "Hi guys." Naomi said. "So what brings you here?" Ade tries to ask in a normal voice. "I, I came to apologize." Naomi said. "No, Naomi, I should be apologizing to you!" Annie said. "I'm so sorry I've been acting up, I shouldn't have let my anger out on you and Ivy." "Annie, I shouldn't have been so impatient with you. I'm sorry too. Friends?" Naomi said. "Friends." Annie said. "I also came by to drop something off. Please don't get mad at me. I was mad and worried about you at the same time, that I…well I…I tried to read your letter with the floor lamp. I'm sorry." "What? What letter, the apology letter?" Annie asked confusedly. "The one from the hospital, Annie, you got the results back from the DNA lab. I made out the title of the document when I tried to see what was inside." Naomi said in an apologetic voice that was truthfully seeking forgiveness. "You did what!" Annie said. But she caught herself, Naomi was only trying to decipher the lies, it was not her fault. "I mean, so you know, that I'm um, I'm pregnant." Annie said in a more gentler tone. Naomi only nodded to say yes. Annie reached in for a hug. The hug lasted a couple of seconds, Naomi was the first to pull away. "I believe this belongs to you." Naomi said while pulling an envelope out of her purse. Annie held it in her hand and stared at it for a while. Ade and Naomi watched her. "Here's the moment of truth." Annie managed to say. She ripped open the envelope after taking one more long look at it. She unfolded the paper that was folded in three's. She read the results to herself. Tears began running down her face, and the paper slowly dropped to the ground. Ade looked worried. Naomi was not sure what to search for in Annie's face. Slowly, after Annie got her emotions together a warm smile made it's way across her face with tears still flowing down. "It's Liam's baby. The DNA match tested positive." She said bursting into more tears of joy. A sudden weight was lifted off of her. Her spirits were lifted and her heart rejoiced. Ade and Naomi both went in for a hug. Annie began to laugh. Her laughter was believable, it was real, it brought life back into her.

Meanwhile, Liam was at the bar, pacing, trying to configure a plan. Almost an hour later, Vanessa came strutting into the bar. "Liam, I'm back!" Vanessa said. "Oh hey. So what did you buy?" Liam asked. "Just some small miscellaneous things, for the party tonight. Liam I am so excited. This is going to be the start of something new." Vanessa said, but she was implying something else in her head. Yes, it will be the start of something new Liam thought to himself. "Okay you need to call Naomi over here, she needs to be here for set-up. Oh and where is Adrianna! She was supposed to come in early today, after all it is a big day…for you…and I…for us." Vanessa said. "Fine, I'll call both of them to come in." First Liam called Naomi. "Hey Naomi, I don't know if you remember, but um, Vanessa needed you to come in today. (Oh yes, I remember, I'll be there in 5 minutes.) Oh, no need to rush, you live 20 minutes away, I don't want you speeding over. (I'm actually at Ade's house, she is getting ready to leave now too, so she will be at work as well. Don't worry Liam.) Oh you're over at Ade's house. What's going on over there? (Just hanging out. Okay Liam we are leaving now. Bye) Bye" . Now Naomi was at Ade's house, something was definitely up. "So are they on there way?" Vanessa asked impatiently. "Yeah." Liam answered.

Ade and Naomi arrived at the Offshore to begin setting things up for the big night. Liam went outside to greet them. He took Ade aside though as he gestured Naomi inside. Liam had to go with his gut instinct and just be direct. "Adrianna…are you and Annie doing drugs?" Liam acutely asked. Ade could sense the seriousness in his voice and replied "No. That is ridiculous. Annie doesn't do drugs, and I've been clean for a long time now, if you don't believe me, give me a drug test." Liam observed the nature of her voice and studied her body language, she was telling the truth. "I found some pills in Annie's bag that day we ate at the restaurant together. I know that I was not in the right position to be rummaging through her personal belongings, but I was concerned about her. She wasn't telling me what was going on, so I had to take matters into my own hands, you know." Liam said. "Liam. All I can say is that you need to trust Annie. When she is ready she will come to you. And just to reassure, I know for a fact that Annie would not take drugs, she wouldn't do that. She knows how harmful it is, and it's just something that she won't do." Ade said. "It just seems like I've been waiting forever." Liam said. "Well if you really care about Annie, ask yourself 'Is forever long enough?' Besides Liam, Annie really wanted to talk to you this morning, she left you a message." Ade said. "A message? I didn't get it." Liam says. "It figures." Ade said, and she walked away.

Annie made her way back to Naomi's house since they made up. It was now time to make amends with Ivy. On the drive home, Annie felt like she was walking on air, it was a wondrous thing, but with a hint of fear. She couldn't wait to see Liam tonight, to tell him how she felt and to tell him about the news that will potentially change their lives forever. Annie arrived back home and she unloaded her stuff. She dragged her luggage toward the door and opened it. She looked around the local area's, but Ivy was nowhere to be found. Annie then called out "Ivy!" But all she heard was her voice echo back to her. Annie would have to make amends until later, right now she had to go unpack her stuff and get ready to meet Liam. The night had to go perfect. She had to figure out how she was going to start off, how she was going to tell him, how she was going to approach him. She felt butterflies in her stomach, and her heart was in complete delight- it was a feeling that she had before. A feeling that she only had for one person- Liam. He was the only person in the world who could make her whole body want to jump out of her skin, she clung to that feeling, it was full of hope and keenness. She lay on her own bed for hours thinking about what to say. Suddenly she had an epiphany, she had to practice what her logically and emotional mind has been telling her this whole time, she had to follow her heart and speak the words that it was beating out to her.

Just then, Annie heard the front door open. She already knew who it was, it was Ivy. "Ivy," Annie called out, "I wanted to apologize to you in person. I know now that you guys were just trying to stand by my side and help me face my troubles. I'm sorry for being a bitch this week, I had a lot on my mind, and the stress was weighing me down. I can't believe that I tried to pin you and Naomi down as the bad guys in this situation. Your not, it's me, I haven't been honest." "I would've forgiven you if you started and stopped with 'I'm sorry for being a bitch'. But the whole speech was worth the listen. Annie, of course you are forgiven. We're pals, that's just what we do!" Ivy said. Ivy and Annie hugged, and while they hugged, Annie whispered "Ivy, I'm pregnant." Ivy backed off, "What? Oh my god, are you serious. This is whoa. Who's the father? Annie this explains a lot!" Ivy said. "I know it does. I didn't want people to know because I didn't know who the father was, which was the worst part. It made me question a lot of things. But it also helped me realize some of the more important things in my life. I was scared because I didn't know who the father was at the time, but know I do, and it's helped me to move forward. Ivy, it's Liam's baby." Annie said. "Oh my god! I know I usually don't say that phase, but that is all that comes to mind. Congratulations Annie!" Ivy said. "Listen Ivy, Liam doesn't know yet, so don't tell anyone, I want Liam and everyone else I tell to here it from me." Annie said. "Sure thing." Ivy said. "Thanks Ivy." Annie said. "Well, I'm going to get ready for the party tonight, so I'll be upstairs in my room, for I don't know how long." Annie continued to say. "Alright, I'll just be hanging out, somewhere down here." Ivy said.

Annie dashed up to her room and began rummaging through her closet. She couldn't find anything that suited the situation. Since scanning through her closet with her eyes wasn't working, she decided to just start trying random outfits on. She came across a blue dress that sort of looked nice. She stood in front of the mirror picturing herself with Liam in that dress. She wondered how she would go about the conversation, 'Hey Liam I'm carrying your baby. NO. Gosh why is this so hard!' she thought. As she was trying standing in front of the mirror, there was a knock at her door. "Come in", Annie yelled out. She thought it was Ivy. "Hey Annie." Naomi said. "Oh hey Naomi, I thought it was Ivy." Annie said. "Well, I come baring good news." Naomi said. "What?" Annie asked curiously while still looking through her closet in distress. "Liam asked about you a lot, and he was quite thrilled when it was mentioned that you were going to the re-launch party." Annie stopped everything she was doing. "Really!" is all she could blurt out from being overjoyed by the information. "He most certainly was. Although, it was rather suspicious that Vanessa was the one who brought up the subject as well. She even frenzied over the idea. Annie, I'm just saying, be careful around her tonight. Oh and I have more good news, so stop fumbling through your closet and look at me." Naomi said. "Okay." Annie said and she obeyed. "Here, I picked this up for you on my back, I figured I would find you in this very situation." Naomi said while she pulled out a pink gift bag with a familiar name on it. Naomi handed the bag to Annie. Annie opened it up and slowly pulled out the dress that Naomi scoped out for her the other day while they were shopping. It was a beautiful red silky dress with black embroidery around the neckline. "Awh! Thank you so much Naomi. It's beautiful. I love it!" Annie said while trying not to tear up. "I know that you didn't want to buy it because you didn't think it would fit in a few months, but who says you not worth this dress, for one night, tonight." Naomi said, while trying to make her words come out like poetry. "Well try it on girl!" Naomi continued. Annie slipped on the dress in her still petite figure. She looked amazing, when she walked, she was filled with grace and an elegance that you couldn't describe. "You look beautiful." Naomi insisted. Annie stood in front of her mirror, she did look beautiful, she stood in awe and turned toward Naomi with much gratitude and gave her friend a hug. "Well now that your settled on what to wear tonight, I have to find an outfit as well. Chow!" Naomi said as she left the room. The women of the house were soon finished getting ready. They all met downstairs and got ready for Liam's party. The left an hour later in Naomi's car, Naomi insisted on being fashionably late.

There was already a lot of people at Liam's bar. It was crowded and the band played their music. Adrianna was already there with Dixon. Ivy walked in first, followed by Naomi and then Annie close behind. Dixon called his sister over. "Hey Annie, did you not like the couch or something?" Dixon playfully asked. "Well, I just thought that since I was your sister, you would be more hospitable and organize better sleeping arrangements." Annie joked back. It felt good to be back out with everybody, but it would feel even better to be back with Liam.

Vanessa, who was standing next to Liam in the back, spotted Annie and the others and said "Hey it looks like the rest of your friends showed up. We should say hi." Vanessa said to Liam. "Alright." Liam said. They walked over to the group and said hello. Vanessa conveniently stood next to Annie. Vanessa slipped the drugs that she got into Annie's purse in a conniving manner so that no one would notice. Vanessa then excused herself from the group and walked away. Throughout the entire conversation, Annie was looking at Liam. She wanted to wait until the crowed died down before she would reveal her true feelings and the secret that she held inside. The party went on for awhile, Annie needed to go to the bathroom, so she left the group. Vanessa followed her in so that she could reapply some lip gloss, and then went back out a few minutes later. She ran over to Liam who was helping a customer and grabbed him aside with a worried look on her face. "Liam, you are not going to be this. I'm worried about Annie, I think she's taking drugs. I saw her in the restroom taking Oxycodone or something. She saw me, and threatened me. She said she would deny everything if I told you or anyone else. Doesn't it all add up, she attacked me earlier this week, and accused me of being the one who hit you in the accident. Liam I am scared." Vanessa said with her eyes tearing up. "Let's go to the back." Liam said. Vanessa followed closely with a sneer across her face.

They got into the back room and Vanessa started to cry. "Liam, she is bad news. I know you used to do drugs a long time ago, I don't think that you should be around her. I care about you." Vanessa said. "Shut the fuck up Vanessa!" Liam shouted. "Stop, just stop with the lies. I can't take it. I know Annie, she would not do something like that." Liam yelled. "Well check her purse if you don't believe me. I saw her pop the pills from her bag. She probably has a lot in her bag." Vanessa argued. "That's a lie." Liam said. "It is not! I know that you think she takes drugs, you Googled her and were looking on information about drugs, so don't give me that _trust_ shit." Vanessa said without realizing that was the starting point of her plan blowing up in her face. "What? You watch my online activity? Nice, Vanessa, that is real mature. And now that we are bringing up each others shit, well I had the chance to take some really nice pictures of you today….buying drugs. Heck, I even have a video." Liam said with a slight grin. "That's right Vanessa, you lose. I believe Annie about everything now. You are a bitch. Get out, we are over." Liam said. "You can't break up with me. I own you." Vanessa said while still trying to come up with something clever to say or do. "Pack all your stuff and go. I don't want you or anything that has to deal with you here in my bar." Liam said as he walked out of the room and back to the party.

Liam felt empowered and free and ready to see the girl that he most truly loved, Annie Wilson. It was getting late and the party began to die down, only a few friends were there. Vanessa was gone along with all of her stuff. The band was packing up. Ivy, Dixon, Naomi, and Ade all went outside, leaving Annie to sit at the bar toward the counter. A few people were inside, but none of them were anyone important. Liam walks up to Annie and a smile that was clear as day. "Hey. Can I get you a drink?" Liam asked. Annie smiled up at him. "No thanks." Annie said while preparing herself for what she would say next. "Well I dumped Vanessa. I guess I hit my head hard on the concrete to have been a fool to be with her. I don't know why I didn't believe you, but I do now, and I always will." Liam said. Annie lit up inside, her heart was pounding and her eyes were dancing. Liam smiled at her reaction, he loved how her eyes danced. "Liam, I have something important to tell you. I didn't know how to tell you earlier, but today I decided…no more lies, and no more secrets." Annie began to say. "First of all, I'm sorry that I didn't come back home to be with you, my heart was telling me to, but I just couldn't bring myself to face you. I thought that you would hate me." Annie said. "I would never hate you Annie." Liam said in a very sincere voice. "I know that, and I've always known that, it has just taken me some time to come to terms with that. And I want to always be with you Liam. I want to be committed to you, but that means that whatever relationship we have together, I have to be honest with you, with myself. This week has been a long journey for me." Annie said. "I'm sorry that I throw Vanessa in your face a lot. I was just angry. Annie, I want to be with you…I can't see myself with anyone else." Liam said. "Liam, wait, hear me out. The reason why this week has been a journey for me has to do with you and I. I struggled with myself this week, just trying to find my way, and I kept finding myself thinking about you. I was too scared to even be around you though, because of unexpected surprises that pop up in life and hit you right in the, well you know where. Liam, the night that, um. Okay let's see. The time that you visited me in the hospital, you know when I was acting weird, I found out that I was pregnant. Liam, the baby is ours." Annie said, desperately waiting for a response from Liam. Liam froze. Did he hear what he thought he heard? He felt all sorts of emotions: happiness, joy, overwhelmed, love and everything that he could feel for the woman that he loved. "Annie. This is…is…this is great." Liam said while he ran to her and lifted her off her feet. He didn't care that there were strangers clapping for them in the background. He kissed her passionately still holding her in his arms. She kissed back with everything she had. He missed her lips pressed up against his and how she would always wrap her hand around his neck. There lips locked for a long time, but what do you expect from a couple who are madly in love with one another and have been hiding their true emotions for a long time. Both were desperately out of breath when they released their kiss, and they both came to realize that they were the entertainment of the night after the band had left. Annie shyly smiled. Liam simply said "It's closing time" as he pointed the small crowd out the door. Annie kissed Liam again, and she whispered "Dixon doesn't know".

Liam picked Annie off the floor once more and swung her around in his arms and walked toward the door. The group of friends were all still outside sitting by the water. Liam and Annie walked hand in hand outside toward everyone else. There hands intertwined liked their hearts, and they were ready to tell the world. Annie and Liam sat down by Dixon. "Hey guys." Dixon said. "So did you enjoy the party?" Liam asked. "Yeah. It was fun man." Dixon replied. "Yeah. This was one of the few parties I enjoyed" Liam said with a smile as he winked at Annie. "Oh great, more love bird signals that I won't understand." Dixon said and then laughed. "You'll understand in a second Dixon," Annie said and she continued on "D, Liam and I are expecting a baby." "For real, ya'll are not playing me. This is huge Annie. Congratulations!" Dixon gave his sister a long hug. And then he gave Liam a hug too. The group of friends all talked under the moonlight for a few more minutes. Soon everyone thought it was about time to leave, so they all went home. Liam and Annie were the only two left laying under the stars. Annie laid close to Liam with her arms wrapped around him. They lay there talking, and laughing and enjoying one another. At times Annie cried and Liam was there to reassure her that everything was alright he whispered into her ear "We can beat this." He then brushed his lip against hers and slowly there kisses became more passionate moving in steady motion. When she opened her eyes after there kiss she repeated "we can beat this."

**THANK YOU to all the loyal readers and frequent reviewers. I think I am going to add one last chapter and then the story will be complete. Once again, please review the chapter. **


	9. Sparks and Speeches

The next morning Liam looked to his left as soon as he woke up. He woke up next to Annie. They had slept outside unknowingly. He lay there smiling, watching the girl of his dreams sleep peacefully while tucked close into his arms. Her eyelids were fluttering, he knew she would be waking up any minute. He gently leaned in and kissed her forehead. A smile ran across Annie's face as she felt his lips on her. His warm breath was soothing and it ran electricity through her veins. She moved in even closer to Liam, reaching under his shirt and eventually she lightly kissed him. Annie's hands were cold to the touch, but this didn't stop Liam's blood from warming up. Annie's touch did so many things to him, he couldn't even begin to describe the power Annie had over him. "I love you." Annie whispered into Liam's ear. His whole body had electrical currents running through it at this point. He turned his whole self toward Annie, he looked her straight in the eye with the most captivating and affectionate gaze that anyone could give a person and he said "I've always loved you, I love you today, I'll love you tomorrow and for the forever that we have together." Liam said with a tender tone. Those words meant so much to Annie, she loved him the same way, she reached for his hand and wrapped it around her petite waist. She placed her cheek next to his, finding comfort in him. Liam could feel the goose bumps that covered Annie, and even though he didn't want this moment to end, he whispered "We've got to go inside." "Okay," Annie said in a soft vulnerable voice. Liam got up first and then lifted Annie up. The two walked in union up toward the bar.

Liam unlocked the door and was about to walk in until Annie pulled him back. She slowly gripped to his hands, pulling him closer. With her brown eyes gazing sweetly into his she finally got to tell Liam in person how she felt. "I love you. I've wanted to tell you for a long time now. That night, before I went to Paris, I loved you. I have always loved you. I just wanted you to know that I know that we have both made mistakes, and we both were involved with other people, but I could never get over you. I love you."

Liam couldn't help but leap for joy on the inside. How could this petite women always have such an enormous grip on him? He loved her complexity. He wanted to spend the rest of his life figuring her out. Annie loved that at times he did not know how to respond to her little speeches, she loved everything about him.

"I love you too Annie" Liam said while he was still intoxicated with her inner beauty.

They walked into the room, and closed the door behind them. A new life awaited them, a life that they could take on together. A life of family and of love.

_The End_


End file.
